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March 15, 2012

Exam Week Bacon Scrambled Eggs

It is that time of year again, midterms! This being my last midterm season as a student as well as it coinciding with my last spring break, I am having a little bit of "senioritis." So, I thought I would motivate myself with a bit of college nostalgia: my favorite exam time comfort food of slowly scrambled eggs. My junior year I was living in my first apartment and had a little dinky electric stove that took forever to heat up. As frustrating as electric was compared to the ridiculous Viking gas stove that lives in Baltimore, it made me appreciate slow stove top cooking. And the best application for slow stove top cooking is scrambled eggs. I would always make these during exam weeks because I would get tired of delivery and wanted to feel like I was cooking something without taking my usual sweet time.

Slow low heat is essential for creamy scrambled eggs. There is a method that I have yet to attempt in which you scramble the eggs in a double boiler, just as you would melt chocolate. While it's on my culinary to do list, you can get just as delicious results on very low heat in a non stick pan. The point is to avoid any burnt pieces in the final product. The Kitchn recently did a post on using chopsticks to stir the eggs during cooking to create small and tender curds and it was a revelation to these eggs! Light, fluffy, and pulled just before completely done; these eggs are the perfect 10 minute comfort food.

I do my eggs just like my Dad, a splash of cream and a pinch of sugar. If you want your comfort food a little more comforting, fry up two slices of bacon in the pan first to act as the fat instead of butter or cooking spray. This left amazing little specks of bacon fat throughout the eggs! I let my pan cool before pouring out excess fat and turning it back on low heat to scramble.

Begin by frying the bacon over medium high heat until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crispy.

Remove the bacon and pat any excess oil with a paper towel. If there is an excess of fat in the pan, carefully remove to your handy bacon fat storage container. While the pan is cooling, whisk together the eggs, half and half, and sugar. Pour back into the pan over very low heat.

Once you see the edges begin to set, begin to scramble the eggs with chopsticks or the thin handle side of a wooden spoon.

When the eggs look almost done (still a little runny), remove from the pan and season with a little bit of salt and pepper. Serve with the crisped bacon!